Lee McDonald

youngblood expo

FMI Groningen

Machine#6

The machine series depicts military vehicles, such as a helicopter or as a truck, made from soft cardboard and various other cheap and fragile materials. The viewer is often invited to enter or interact with the machines, although the outcomes are often pointless – for example, blowing up a balloon just to destroy it. Sometimes these absurdities are congruent with the senselessness of war. Their idiocy comes forward in silly details, for example, a helicopter with tiny, pathetic wings or when objects reach a climax and produce strange sounds. In addition to its engagement with political topics, Mc Donalds entire body of work scrutinizes the seriousness of art through its scrappy aesthetic.